Montgomery County-Today at approximately 1:24 a.m, Montgomery County Central Communications Center received a 911 call from a suspect on Ladoga Road south of County Road 150 south holding a hostage and making demands.

Crawfordsville Police Department started initial communications with the suspect John Blake Peterman, 37 years old who appears to be homeless. Peterson advised he was holding a hostage and did not want to hurt anyone. The Montgomery County/Crawfordsville SWAT Team was activated and a perimeter was established at the location which turned out to be storage units. A hostage negotiator talked with Peterman who advised that he was holding a hostage and that he was armed with weapons and had set explosive devices around the property and officers should not approach the units.

Officers were able to confirm that propane tanks with wires running from them had been placed around the storage unit. The Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad was called and responded with the Tippecanoe County SWAT Team. Also notified were the Indiana State Police Explosive Ordinance Disposal Team (EOD) and the Indiana State Police Central Emergency Response Services.

Negotiations continued and at approximately 5:30 a.m, the female hostage was released. It was also determined that a second female hostage was initially being held but had escaped the storage unit before the initial phone call was made to 911. They were taken to Franciscan St. Elizabeth Hospital in Crawfordsville, IN where they were treated and then were questioned by Montgomery County Detectives.

Negotiations continued with Peterman when at approximately 11:49 a.m. today, he surrendered to authorities without incident. He is being held at the Montgomery County Jail on charges of Criminal Recklessness with a Weapon-Class C Felony and two counts of Criminal Confinement-Class B Felony. Bond has not been set at this time. Further charges are bending with the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

The Tippecanoe County Robot was sent in to check for explosive devises in the storage unit. No explosive devises were found and the unit was secured. Other departments who assisted the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department were The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Crawfordsville Fire Department.

Suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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